The Root Cause of War

 "All wars are economic in origin."

~ Kieran J. Carroll, Ph.D.

I was in high school during one of my out-of-town uncle's weekend visits when he asked me what subjects I was taking. Outside of the usual three-R curriculum, I was in an Economics class. This sounded more adult and exotic to my teenaged ears, so I mentioned that first.

Uncle Kieran was superintendent of schools in his home county in Maryland. He was also a history scholar; his doctoral dissertation was on Augustin Thierry (look him up). My point is, when my uncle made a statement on academics, I listened. When I told him I was taking Economics, he immediately waved his arm dismissively. "All wars are economic in origin. That's what you need to know about economics." He immediately asked me what else I was studying, as if challenging me to present him with a subject not quite so predictable as economics.

Why do we remember certain moments so vividly, and completely forget so many others? It's one of life's mysteries. But I've always remembered Uncle Kieran's sweeping definition of economics as the seeds of war. Today, in Ukraine, I am watching that lesson unfold in real time.

To the victor belongs the spoils. Wars enrich the victors, who are often tyrants such as Putin. Even if the victory is short-lived, the winner triumphs in land, power, prestige and resources. Oil production and usage is an obvious source of this particular conflict. The United States has the means to combat this, but the current administration is a slave to the radical "green" interests of their left-wing contributors. Bidin does not want to lose those many millions of donor dollars.

All wars are economic in origin. In the case of the feeble US response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war is economic in continuation, too.

Worth A Second Look

Have you tried finding an enjoyable, amusing, worth-your-time movie on Netflix recently? It's a tough assignment. After losing two hours of my life last night to a hot mess titled The Lost Daughter, I was determined not to repeat my error in film choice tonight.

At my age, very few movies are worth investing the time for a second sitting. Being a movie lover, I have my classic favorites that receive regular repeat screenings. But newbie movies have a hard time making my rewatch list. Then I noticed St. Vincent in the "New This Week" section on Netflix. I had watched it a few years ago when it was first streaming, and it suddenly disappeared--as good movies are wont to do on Netflix. When I saw it suddenly reappear this week, it immediately made the jump to my watch list.

St. Vincent starts Bill Murray as a crusty, down-on-his-luck smart-mouth who finds himself providing after school daycare to a new neighbor's young son, Oliver. To avoid spoiling any of the fun, let's just say that Vincent succeeds in teaching Oliver many significant ways of the world during his babysitting gig. Melissa McCarthy plays Oliver's mom with heartfelt charm, and Naomi Watts has a colorful role as a "friend" of Vincent.

While the film has many moments of hilarity, there are also both dark and tragic plotlines woven throughout that draw the story to its poignant climax.

I just finished watching St. Vincent again. As I remembered, it was worth a second look.

The Genocide Games

Have you watched any of the Genocide Olympics? I haven't. Neither, apparently, has Nikki Haley. The games were left scheduled in Beijing even after China unleashed Covid on the world and are in the process of exterminating an ethnic group, the Uyghurs. There are chilling parallels to the Berlin "Nazi Games" of 1936.

The Chinese Communist Party never held human life in high esteem. The Uyghurs in China that are coerced into slave labor are the fortunate ones. So many Uyghurs are imprisoned in concentration camps, are forcibly sterilized, tortured, or executed in genocidal ethnic cleansing. The major corporate sponsors of the Genocide Games include Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble. Coke and P&G are okay with genocide? Evidently big money talks louder than human decency. I'm comforted a bit by the cratered ratings, down 55% from 2018 and 64% from 2014.

I'd like to do something to fight back against the Genocide Games. I may be one little person, but there are millions just like me. All of us "little people" spend money. Both Coke and P&G sell a plethora of products. What if all the many millions of us avoided purchasing any of their numerous goods? It might not make much of a dent in their big-time deals with China, but I know I'll feel better if I make an effort not to endorse genocide with my own dollars. A few fast foods and convenience products just aren't worth the price.

Keep on Trucking

I'm kind of embarrassed that the truckers' Freedom Convoy protesting vaccine mandates started in Canda, not in the USA. Really, the "land of the free" is now a runner-up in standing up for liberty? It's mortifying.

But the truckers are the real story. The Canadian government's oppressive Covid mandates were ridiculous and insulting to the truckers. Quarantine when you drive back into Canada from the USA--really? Can you think of a more quarantined job environment than a driving a truck? Truckers are alone while they are working. Justin Trudeau, please write that down.

Truckers worldwide bring all of us, well, everything. Name any item in everyday life. If you eat it, drink it, wear it, want it, use it, need it, work with it or play with it, it most likely came off a truck. Truckers have the power to stop the world in its tracks, and it looks like they are about to do just that if they are not left in peace and freedom. Alaska started a convoy rally in support, with the US finally planning a cross-country "Convoy to DC 2022." And France and the Netherlands are but two European countries starting their own trucker convoys.

So Facebook/Meta can go ahead and take down the group pages. GoFundMe can freeze the funds donated to the Freedom Convoy. The radical autocratic lefties can pull every dirty trick in the book, but I don't think that's going to stop the truckers--or their supporters. They are in it for the long haul. It's about time.